From the jobless to the struggling businesses, this recession has taken an especially hard toll on California.

I think it is safe to say that most of us can’t wait for the day when newspaper headlines declare that unemployment has dropped below double digits, lending to businesses has picked up and companies are again moving into California, instead of out.

A recent study released by Claremont McKenna College and the UCLA Anderson School of Management indicates that the economy in the Inland Empire has begun to stabilize, and that unemployment is expected to return to a normal rate in 2014.

So, there is light at the end of this dark tunnel – it is just a matter of finding the right route to get us there.

The economic prospects of our region and of our state greatly depend on business and job development. In order to stage a healthy recovery, we need to focus on helping businesses so they can continue to employ workers and keep jobs in California.

Having served the residents of Colton for 14 years, I have seen firsthand how tax incentives and funding programs support businesses. The city of Colton is among the locations in California to be a part of a designated Enterprise Zone. These zones offer employers a series of business and tax incentives to help them offset the high cost of doing business in the state.

The program, which was established by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, helps boost the local economy by supporting businesses that provide good-paying jobs.

Our local zone, deemed the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone, has helped us keep businesses here, local residents employed and tax revenues stable. It has played a role in helping us cope with the fall of the construction and logistic industries, the bread and butter of the job base in the inland region.

Last year, the zone accounted for the creation of 133 new jobs and retention of 731 existing jobs. As we educate people about the zone, I can only see these numbers grow in the years to come.

In better times, this program will be instrumental in attracting businesses to our region, and helping them grow and hire more workers. Efforts are already being made to build awareness about our zone and its benefits among industry sectors we wish to attract to the area.

This program has not only been a pivotal tool for our region, but also for the state, which needs to do all it can to sustain business. Just this year, the expansion of several zones helped keep large employers such as Bayer Healthcare and Baxter Biosciences from locating to neighboring states and moving thousands of jobs. As more business-friendly states vie for our employers, and the reasons to leave California mount, the Enterprise Zone program is one of the few tools helping the state stay competitive.

Moreover, with 42 zones throughout California, I can only imagine that there are scores of employers that currently depend on the program to help them cope with today’s economic conditions, and even more that are eligible or poised to take advantage of it. This program might be the one thing that helps our struggling businesses survive this downturn.

Through awareness and education, the Enterprise Zone program will help forge a path to improving our business climate. There are many opportunities ahead of us to use this program to encourage economic development, which is why we are honored to host the 2010 California Association of Enterprise Zones annual training conference and pilot the dialogue that will facilitate progress.

The three-day event, being held Oct.27-29 in San Bernardino, will attract economic development

professionals, business leaders, state lobbyists, tax credit consultants, accountants and Enterprise Zone administrators from around the state to address measures and exchange ideas on employing the program to spur economic development. Larry Kosmont, renowned economic development leader, will serve as keynote and discuss the impact of state issues on business and job retention, and what it will take to stay competitive. I encourage anyone with an interest in the Enterprise Zone program to attend. For more information, visit www.caezconference.com.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.